Wick-type fuel burner



Aug. 8, 1950 A. NELSON WICK-TYPE FUEL BURNER Filed Feb. 9, 1946 IN VEN TOR.

dverdA/f5orz, BY w Patented Aug. 8, 1950 UNITED STAT ES PATENT OFF 2,518,050 r I '7 i i if WICK-TYPE FUEL BURNER Averd Nelson, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., ass'ignor l to Prentiss Wabers Products 1110., Wisconsin Rapids, Wis, a corporation of Wisconsin Application February 9, 194'6,,. e1ial N o. '6 46,5716

The present invention relates to improvements in liquid fuel burners.

More particularly the present invention rclates to improvements in burners for the combustion of oil or similar fuel.

The invention is particularly applicable to and will :be described in connection with burners of the type employing an annular wick.

An object of the present invention .is :to provide a burner having improved means for spreading the flame.

A further object is to provide a burner having improved means for distributing air to the fuel delivered by an annular wicks a A further object is to provide a burner includ-- ing a flame spreader whichis simple and sturdy in construction and which performs with improved efiiciency. l

A further object is to provide a burner well adapted to meet the needs of ordinary service.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure '1 is a view in side elevation of a burner embodying the principles of th-e'present invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the plane indicated by the arrows 2--'2 of Figure 3;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the structuredlustrated in Figure l and I Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of an air distributor and flame spreader unit forming part of the construction illustrated in the, preceding figures. The numeral l indicates. an annular wick housing having the outer wall or tube 4 I and the inner wall or tube "l2, said housing being closed at the bottom, as indicated'by the numeral IS. The outer wall or tube is illustrated as bein extended toa higher level than the inner wall or tube -12. Housed between the "walls or tubes H and I2 is the annular wick 14 mounted within and secured to the perforated well-115, which, in a manner well understood in the art, may be manipulated from the exteriorof the wall H by means of the handle l6. Said handle is mounted at the end of a shaft l'l rotatably Supported within the bracket l8 secured to the outer, wall or tube H of the member Ill. LSaid shaft I! is provided with a pinion (not illustrated) for engaging in the perforations in the wall l5, whereby turning of the handle I6 will result in the raising or lowering of the wick [4. The perforations in the wall I will preferably be spirally disposed, so that said wick in its up and down movements will also have a rotary movement, all of which is well understood by those skilled in the art.

Communicating with the lower portion of the 2 Claims. (-01. res-Pen annular housing 10 is the fuelinlet fittingcl which may be united-to the outer wall ll-of the housing i6. Said fitting I9 is supplied with-fuel from the pipe 29, may be releasably'se cured to the housing H! by means of brackets 52 i and'flil'. l

The outer wall or tube H of the annular hous ing it maybe provided with the exteriorly ex ten'd-ing'bea'd 23 for strengthening said wall or tube. The inner wall or tube 42 is provided with the interiorly extending bead 24. The bead-2l3 performs not only strengthening f-unctiens,- -but also acts as an abutment for a bracket :25. flaid bracket 25 includes an annular portion 2-6 fitting within the interior of the innerw-al'l l2 anda flange Zlextendinginwardiya short distance be yond the bead 24. The fiangefl is provided with a plurality of fingers 2-8. 'In a physical-embodiment of the present invention four of said fingers 28 are provided, said fingers being disposed symmetrically with respect to two diameters-in right-angular relationship with each other. bead 24- serves to support an air distributor and flame spreader unit, indicated as a whole by the numeral 29. lEhe fingers 2'8 serve as hold-down members for the unit 29 in a manner which will be described presently. a

The air distributor and flame spreader unit 2 9 embodies a pair of diametrically disposed plates 30 .and '31, which plates are interlocked along the axis of the annular housing H3 by means of a dove-tailed joint. Said plates 30 and Si have fingers 32 extending therefrom, ailin the same direction, circumferentially with respect to the unit '29. Said fingers 32 are adapted to slide on .derneath the fingers 28 when the unit 29 isi'nserted within the housing in and given a turn in one direction. Release is accomplished by turning the unit'29 in the opposite direction. v

Each of the plates 30 and 3! is provided with end portions 33 fitting freely within theinner wall i201" the wick housing [0. Each of said end portions provides an abutment for supporting an air distributor 34, which forms part of the 'unit 2.9. Said air distributor 34 includes, a cylindri cal wall portion 35 of less diameter than the .internal diameter of the wall ii. The upper portion of the wall 34 is bent over at its top portion 36 in the form of an inverted U and isprovided with the downwardly extending outer annular portion 31 extending to a level below the top of the wall l2 and providing an annular space between said portion 31 and said wall I2. The cylindrical wall 35 is provided with a plurality of slots 38 adapted to receive fingers 39 extending from said plates 30 and 3|. Said fingers 39, in cooperation with the end portions 33, serve to hold the air distributor 34 in a fixed position axially of the unit 29. However, the air distributor 34 is capable of a slight circumferential adjustment relative to the plates 30 and 3|, for purposes which will appear presently.

The wall 35 of the air distributor 34 is provided with a plurality of spaced apertures 46. The outer annular portion 31 is provided with a plurality of spaced apertures 4|, said apertures 4| being located at a higher level than the apertures 40. Said apertures 4| are located approximately at the level of the top of the inner annular wall I2 of the housing l0. Preferably the apertures 4| will be smaller than the apertures 40. The wall 35 may be referred to as the inner perforated annular wall and the outer annular portion may be referred to as the outer perforated annular wall of the distributor 34.

The plates 30 and 3| are provided with upstanding portions 42 adapted to support the flame spreader 43. Said upstanding portions 42 are provided with fingers 44 extending through coinciding apertures in the flame spreader 43, being bent over on the top side of the flame spreader 43 to hold said flame spreader firmly upon the upstanding portions 42. The flame spreader is in the form of a canopy and has the central aperture 45. The flame spreader 43 is also provided with the circularly disposed series of holes 46 and a second series of circularly disposed holes 41, preferably arranged in symmetrical relationship with the central aperture 45.

In operation, air entering from the bottom of the burner and passing up within the inner wall |2 will have a plurality of possible courses of travel. Portions of such air adjacent to the wall or tube |2 will pass up through the annular passageway between the wall 35 and the wall or tube l2, partv passing up through the annular space outwardly of the portion 31 and part passing through the apertures 4|. Air will also pass inwardly of the wall 35, thence through the apertures 40 in the air distributor 34, and such air will be directed through the apertures 4|. Still other portions of the air will pass upwardly to the flame spreader 43. A portion of such air will pass through the central aperture 45, and other Iportions will pass through the two circularly disposed series of holes 46 and 41. Portions of the air will also be directed radially beyond the periphery of the flame spreader 43.

The net effect of the various courses of combustion air will be to provide combustion air directly to the fumes emitted by the wick l4, to spread the 'flame resulting from combustion of the air and fuel, and to provide combustion air for the core of the stream of combustible mixture.

If by reason of tolerances in manufacture the distribution of air along the various courses should be out of symmetry around the axis of the burner, the air distributor 34 may be given a turn in a circumferential direction due to the slots 38 which receive the fingers 39. By reason of this adjustment the desired symmetry of the flame may be accomplished.

Though a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is intended to cover all such modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a burner, in combination, an annular wick housing having an inner tube and an outer tube, said innerltube having itsupper edge located below the upper edge of said outer tube, and an air distributor located adjacent to the top of said housing, said air distributor having a tube spaced from the inner annular wall of said housing. said annular wall of said air distributor being provided outwardly thereof with a turned over top portion and a depending edge portion disposed inwardly of said inner annular tube of said wick housing, said distributor wall being provided with a series of circumferentially spaced apertures, said edge portion being provided with a series of circumferentially spaced apertures located in a plane above the plane of said first mentioned apertures, the apertures in said edge portion being located above the inner tube of said housing but below the top of the outer tube of said housing.

2. In a burner, in combination, an annular wick housing having an inner annular wall and an outer annular wall, said inner annular wall havin its upper edge located below the upper edge of said outer annular wall, and an air distributor located adjacent to the top of said housing, said air distributor having an annular wall spaced from the inner annular wall of said housing,'said annular wall of said air distributor being provided outwardly thereof with a turned over top portion and'a depending edge portion disposed inwardly of said inner annular tube of said wick housing, said distributor wall being provided with a series of circumferentially spaced apertures, said edge portion-being provided with a series of circumferentially spaced apertures located in a :plane above the plane of said first mentioned apertures, the apertures in said edge portion being located above the inner wall of said housing but below the top of the outer wall of said housingv V AVERD NELSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this'patentr UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Aug. 8, 1932 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,518,050 August 8, 1950 AVERD NELSON It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 4, line 13, strike out a tube spaced from the inner annular wall of and insert instead an annular wall spaced from the inner tube of;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 7th day of November, A. D. 1950.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Oommz'ssz'oner of Patents. 

